Light Mountain Henna Hair Color & Conditioner - Dark Brown Hair Dye for Men/Women, Organic Henna Leaf Powder and Botanicals, Chemical-Free, Semi-Permanent Hair Color, 4 OzUSDA Organic

I've been using this for years to cover the grays and give my hair an overall shine. If you have gray hair, and perhaps even if you don't, you need to start with a straight henna application first. I buy Light Mountain Naturals' red and use that. If you have gray hair, you'll have to do this every six weeks or so. Here are detailed directions:1) Mix the henna (the Red box) with hot water and let sit for at least five hours. You can even mix it the day before (or even weeks before), but if you're not going to use it for a while (say, three days or so), put it in the freezer. It freezes great. If you'll go more than 5 hours but less than a few days, put it in the fridge until you're ready to use it.2) Wash you hair, but don't use any conditioner. Comb it through and part it so you can easily apply the color. Put vaseline (or plant-based vaseline-type jelly) on your ears, your neck and your face along the hair line. Prep your area by putting down newspaper and a drop cloth and have some rubber gloves around.3) Use a brush to apply the red (henna) and make sure you have no metal anything touching the color. Add more distilled water if it's too thick. I like it the consistency of pancake batter to make it easier to apply.4) You'll want to leave the red on for 10 minutes or so. While it's on, mix the black (indigo). Use hot water and mix only what you'll need. Indigo does not keep and should be used within an hour or so of mixing it. I have longish hair (below my shoulders) and I use half a package for each application. I close up the bag with the remaining indigo with tape so it stays fresh.5) Rinse off the red when your hair has visibly turned orange (you can see it on grays for sure). Pat your hair dry, comb it out and part it for the indigo.6) Apply the indigo, beginning at the roots and working your way out to the ends. Cover in the plastic bag they include in the box or use another plastic bag (or shower cap). I leave it on for 75 minutes, but you might need it on for less or more time.7) While the indigo is on, I put away the unused red (henna) by putting it in the freezer. It freezes great. Since I'm only using the red on my roots, I usually get 3 or 4 applications of the red from one box. I also clean up my bathroom by getting rid of the newspaper, washing the brush and comb, and shaking out the drop cloth in the bathtub.8) When it's time, rinse off the indigo with water, then use a conditioner rinse to get the bulk of the indigo off of your hair and scalp. It won't all come off, but most of it will.9) Don't wash your hair with shampoo for at least 24 hours. I try to go 48. Your hair will smell like plants and if you scratch your scalp, you'll get blue gunk under your fingernails. Hang in there! It will take two shampoos to get it all out, but try to be patient and only wash your hair every other day or so the first week and only after at least 24 hours has passed since you first applied the color.10) I get tons of compliments on my hair when I use this. Truly! It grows out great and looks natural. Just remember to use the red first.

first and foremost WEAR GLOVES the packaging didn't come with gloves and I stupidly just applied the dye with my hands. now they are stained a dark blue color. since that was my own mistake, this henna gets five stars. the process is very simple, here's what I did to end up with a neutral black or dark brown hair color (my original color was dark brown with light brown roots)- place henna powder in glass container, slowly add around 1 and 1/2 cups of pure black tea- mix with plastic spatula- start applying to hair within 10 min (put tarps on the floor and vaseline on your face, neck, and ears because its so messy)- wait 4 hours after wrapping the hair in plastic, I put a towel overtop of the plastic toorinsing out was not that bad, only took about 10-15 mins. I heard you aren't supposed to shampoo, oil, or condition your hair for 2-3 days after applying henna to let it oxidize. My hair feels thicker, smooth, and not that dry so far. Also many reviews mention a very bad smell of the henna, but I have not noticed anything like that. Me and my mom both agree it smells very faint and earthy. However, there is a strong smell when mixing.

If you're looking for something with the ease of your standard drugstore boxed color, or even the stuff from the beauty supply store, this is not for you.However, this IS a great baby step if you're just looking into using henna on your hair. The product does work well, but it's not particularly convenient, and it smells like frozen peas. That's just part of the henna experience. It's worth it to me not to have to embalm my head in a bunch of crazy chemicals. If you're already a hard-core henna user, this is pretty gritty, nothing like body-art quality henna, but it's a good fix when you're in a pinch.Here's the secret: I don't follow the package directions. I mix up half in advance, and wait for dye release (par for the course) and when it's ready, I mix in the other half with tepid water or lemon juice or cooled coffee, mix both together, and add it to my hair immediately. Sometimes I add ground cloves to make it smell a little nicer, depending on how I feel about my husband that day. ;) Henna takes time to develop. while indigo (which is what turns the red stain of henna black) develops fairly quickly. Boiling water actually makes the indigo less potent, and you don't have to wait for dye release. Anyway: I just put down some newspapers, stick my head over the bathtub, and proceed to make a giant mud pie on my head with this stuff. It's helpful to have a glass (nonreactive) bowl, a spatula that can be stained, some kind of plushy headwrap/headband, and some saran wrap. When My hair has absorbed as much as possible, I use the head band to catch drips, cover the rest of my head with plastic, clean up my hairline, and go to bed, as it is drippy and annoying otherwise. Oh: make sure to put a doubled towel on your pillow! I wake up to nicely colored hair the next morning, tons of volume and shine. Don't freak out if it seems a little redder than expected the first day or two: the color with oxidize, getting darker after that. Yeah, I am kind of a henna nerd, but I figured the additional info might help someone out: cheers!

It fades over time I bought it just as a hair mask though not really trying to dye my hair but the color does fade when you do dye your hair. I left the henna on for 4 hours and it looked nice initially but after 2 weeks I could see it starting to fade. It works great as a hair mask though.